Earth scraper and carrier



g- 1961 E. SHUMAKER ETAL 2,994,975

EARTH SCRAPER AND CARRIER Filed Jan. 21, 1960 a Shets-Sheet 1 i Mm'iEma I NVENTO RS LAwREA/cE E. SHUMAKER STANLEY E. HILL ATTORNEY 1961 L. E. SHUMAKER ET AL 2,994,975

EARTH SCRAPER AND CARRIER Filed Jan. 21, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 5:; F INVENTORS d LAWRENCEE. SHUMAKER BY STANLEY E. HILL ATTORNEY 1961 L. E. S'HUMAKER ET AL 2,994,975

EARTH SCRAPER AND CARRIER Filed Jan. 21, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5 7 INVE N TORS LAWRENCE E. SHUMAKER BY STANLEY E. HILL 'ATTORNEY 2,994,975 EARTH SCRAPER AND CARRIER Lawrence E. Shumaker and Stanley E. Hill, Denver, 'Colo., assignors to The Eversman Mfg. Company, Denver, Colo., a corporation of Colorado Filed Jan. '21, 1960, Ser. No. 3,798 Claims. (Cl. 37-126) This invention relates to an earth scraper for attachment to a towing tractor vehicle provided with hydraulic pressure controls and more particularly to an earth scraper of the type illustrated and described in copending application Serial No. 712,253, new Patent No. 2,941,318.

Earth scrapers of this type comprise a wheeled trailer frame provided with a bucket having a relative sharp forward digging edge for loosening the earth to fill the bucket and with a gate which swings to close the front of the bucket to retain the pile of earth therein during transportation.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a highly efficient linkage between the trailer frame and the bucket which will automatically maintain the bucket at the most effective digging angle, when the bucket is in the earth scraping position, and at the most eflicient earth carrying angle, when the bucket is in the transport position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a connecting linkage between the bucket and the gate which will be economical to manufacture and assemble, sturdy and rugged for heavy construction uses, and which will operate automatically in consequence of the movements of the bucket to provide full opening in the digging and dumping positions of the bucket, full closure during the transport position thereof, and accurate, controlled intermediate openings for earth spreading purposes.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is bad to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawings and throughout the description.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the improved earth scraper with its bucket in the closed or transport position and with actuating hydraulic cylinders for the bucket shown in broken line so as not to conceal linkage therebelow;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3, FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section of the midportion of the improved scraper taken on the line 4-4, FIG. 1 showing the bucket in the closed or transport position;

FIG. 5 is a similar sectional view of the mid-portion of the scraper illustrating the bucket in the digging or scraping position;

FIG. 6 is a similar sectional view illustrating the bucket in an intermediate or earth scattering position; and

FIG. 7 is a similar View illustrating the bucket in the full dump position.

The improved scraper comprises a Ushaped main frame consisting of two side frame members 10 extending rearwardly from a tubular cross frame member 46, a stem beam 11 extends medially forward from the tubular cross frame member 46. The rear extremities of the side frame members 10 are supported on suitable rear wheels 12. The forward extremity of the stem beam Patented Aug. 8, 1961 11 is curved downwardly as indicated at 13 and terminates in any suitable pivotal towing attachment. The downwardly curved forward extremity 13 of the stem beam 11 may be pivotally mounted on a suitable tractor or other towing vehicle. In the form illustrated, it is pivotally mounted on a dolly frame 14 supported on dolley wheels 15 and provided with a suitable towing tongue 16.

A rectangular, transversally-elongated scoop-like bucket 17 is pivotally mounted between the side frame members 10. The bucket 17 is closed at the bottom, the ends and at the back and is open at its front and top. The forward edge of the closed bottom of the bucket is provided with an earth scraping knife edge 18. A hood shaped gate 19 is also pivotally mounted between the sides of the main frame forwardly of the bucket 17. The gate 19 is closed at its ends and front and is open at the top, the rear and the bottom.

This invention relates more particularly to the structure and elements employed for mounting the bucket 17 and the gate 19 between the side frame members 10. The latter structure comprises two hollow, triangular bell crank members 24) fixedly mounted on and extending radially and in alignment from the extremities of a rotatable shaft tube 21 surrounding a tubular horizontal brace strut 22 extending between the side frame members 10 at the rear of the bucket 17.

Each bell crank member 20 is provided with an outwardly extending eccentrically positioned plunger pivot 23 and with an eccentrically positioned shaft bearing 24. The shaft tube 21 and the bell crank member 20 are arranged to be controllably rotated by means of suitable hydraulic cylinders 25, there being one of the hydraulic cylinders 25 hingedly mounted on a hinge bracket 26 on each side frame member 10. The cylinders actuate plungers 27 which extend rearwardly to pivotal mountings on the plunger pivots 23 of the bell crank members 20. It can be seen that rearward movement of the plungers 27 will cause upward movement of the shaft bearings 24. Hydraulic fluid is conducted to the hydraulic cylinders through suitable control valves as is conventional in the art.

A reinforcing pad 28 is welded to each side of the bucket 17 from each of which a bucket pivot stud, which will be herein designated as a bucket pivot 29, projects. The bucket pivots are rotatably mounted in the shaft bearings 24 of the bell crank members 20 so as to rotatably support the bucket 17 between the bell crank members 20 so that rearward rotation of the bell crank members will cause upward movement of the bucket.

The angle of tilt or incline of the bucket is automatically controlled by means of an upper connecting link 30 and a lower connecting link 31 at each side of the bucket. The links 30 and 31 are pivotally mounted at their rear extremities on link studs 32 and 3 3, respectively, formed on and projecting outwardly from each reinforcing pad 28 The links 30 and 31 are pivotally connected at their forward extremities on spaced-apart pivots 34 and 35, respectively, mounted in triangular compensating plates 36. Each compensating plate is pivotally mounted upon a link pivot stud 37 on the inner face of one of the side frame members 10.

To accomplish this the desired movements of the bucket 17, the upper links 30 are relatively shorter than the lower links 31 and the pivot studs 32 and 33 are separated a lesser distance apart than the pivots 34 and 35.

The gate 19 is carried between two gate lever members 38 each of which is welded along the lower edge of one of the closed sides of the gate and projects rearwardly therefrom. The rearwardly projecting portions of the gate lever members 38 are pivotally mounted, rearward of the gate, upon the link pivot studs 37 to pivotally support the gate between the side frame members forward of the bucket 19. The gate lever members are provided with cam notches 39 in their rear extremities and with cam surfaces 40 at the rear of their lower edges. The cam notches 39 and the surfaces 40 are connected by cam rollers 41, there being one of the rollers 41 mounted on and projecting outwardly from each of the reinforcing pads 28 in spaced relation to the pivot studs 32 and 33 thereon. The forward lower edge of the gate 19 is constantly urged downwardly by means of tension springs 42, there being one of the tension springs 42 at each side of the gate. The springs 42 are tensioned between spring studs 43 on the gate and spring straps 44 on the side frame members 10. The maximum upward movement of the gate is limited by means of stop lugs 45 which project oppositely outward from the forward extremities of the gate lever members 38 so as to contact the lower edges of the side frame members 10 to limit upward movement of the gate.

Operation Let us assume that the bucket is in the deep dig position of FIG. 5. It can be seen that forward movement will cause the knife edge 18 to shear a layer of earth into the bucket. When the latter is filled, hydraulic fluid is admitted to the cylinders to rotate the bell cranks upwardly. The initial upward movement causes the axis of the bucket pivots to move forwardly as it rises and the axes of the link studs 32 and 33 to move rapidly rearward as they rise. The result is that the forward edge of the bucket swings upwardly while the rear remains stationary to bring the bucket quickly to the horizontal position of FIG. 4.

As the forward portion of the bucket rises, the cam rollers 41 will swing upwardly and rearwardly from the cam surfaces 40 of the gate lever members 38 to allow the springs 42 and gravity to urge the lower edge of the gate against the front edge of the bucket (as shown in FIG. 4) to prevent spilling of the load.

Further rearward rotation of the bell crank members causes the upper extremities of the links and '31 to swing forwardly to tilt the bucket away from the gate for scattering or spreading purposes as shown in FIG. 6.

Still further rearward rotation of the bell crank levers swings the bottom of the bucket rapidly upward to a vertical position and beyond to quickly dislodge and discharge the load as shown in FIG. 7. The cam rollers 37 swing downwardly into contact with the gate lever members 38 to tilt them against the bias of the springs 42 and away from the bucket to provide wide clearance for quick dumping as shown in FIG. 7.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention. 7

Having thus described the invention what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An earth scraper and carrier comprising: two spacedapart side frame members; a bell-crank shaft rotatably mounted and extending between said frame members; a

. 4 e V bell-crank member fixedly mounted adjacent each extremity of said shaft and extending upwardly and forwardly therefrom in alignment with each other; means for rotating said shaft at desired intervals; a scoop-shaped bucket pivotally mounted between said bell-crank members forwardly of said shaft; two connecting links pivotally mounted at their one extremities on and at each side of said bucket; a pivot stud extending inwardly from each side frame member; a compensating plate rotatably mounted on each pivot stud; and a pair of spaced-apart pivot members mounted in each compensating plate eccentric of the axis of said pivot stud so as to impart a tilting action to said bucket in consequence of the rotation of said bell-crank members, the second extremity of each of said links being pivotally mounted on one of said pivot members to provide an extensible connection between the bucket and the frame members.

2. An earth scraper and carrier as described in claim 1 in which the connecting links at each side of the bucket are positioned in vertically spaced relation and in which the uppermost link at each side is shorter than the lower link, the difference in lengths being compensated for by relative rotation between said compensating plates and said links as said bell-crank member rotates upwardly and downwardly.

3. An earth scraper and carrier as described in claim 1 having a gate device pivotally mounted intermediate its height on and extending between said side frame members forwardly of said bucket; spring means urging the lower portion of said gate device toward said bucket to close the front of the latter; and cam means on the sides of said bucket acting to force said gate device away from said bucket and against the bias of said spring when said bell-crank members are rotated upwardly to dump said bucket.

4. An earth scraper and carrier as described in claim 3 in which the cam means comprises: a gate lever member secured at each side of and adjacent the bottom of said gate device and extending rearwardly of the pivot points of said gate device; and a cam follower mounted on each side of said bucket and positioned to contact the gate lever member at that side when the bucket tilts forwardly to dump its contents.

5. An earth scraper and carrier as described in claim 4 having a reinforcing plate welded to each side of said bucket; a bucket pivot projecting outward from each plate to pivotally mount the bucket between the bell-crank members; two links studs projecting outwardly from each plate to provide the pivotal mounting for the rear extremities of the connecting links; and a cam roller mounted on and projecting outwardly from each plate to provide the cam follower member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,136,203 Adams Nov. 8, 1938 2,174,749 Hutchins et al. Oct. 3, 1939 2,196,690 Barrett Apr. 9, 1940 2,514,782 Miskin July 11, 1950 2,941,318 Beck June 21, 1960 

